Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Berlin on Wednesday and discussed the broad topic of the future of the EU, but for Sipilä the main item on the agenda was solidifying EU’s defence policy.

“The planned defence cooperation should lead to concrete results already this year. Chancellor Merkel also noted that now is the right time for these discussions,” Sipilä said.

Talk among EU leaders concerning the future of the union has increased due to Brexit negotiations, but also because of the election of France’s new president, Emmanuel Macron, who has spoken of reforms not only in France but across the EU.

Sipilä said that both he and Merkel noted that Macron’s benevolent attitude towards the EU has increased the possibilities to develop the union.

He emphasised that – in cases regarding the euro currency – each member nation needs to be responsible for their own fiscal situations in order for reforms to be successfully carried out.